Cab or van vehicle air deflector

ABSTRACT

This invention describes a demountable type of air deflector device in the form of a triangular prism which can be attached to the upper front wall of a large van or semitrailer, and which extends over the top of the cab. The triangular shaped structure can have a closed top and bottom or, if desired, apparatus such as a refrigerating unit may be placed on the front wall of the van and air allowed to pass up through the air deflector past the refrigerating unit and up over the top of the van. Shock mounts may be provided for attaching the structure to the van, and means are provided for rapidly removing the deflector device as occasion demands.

United States Patent [191 Edwards Mar. 19, 1974 CAB OR VAN VEHICLE AIRDEFLECTOR P rf lirrta ry Fx rZi r Kennethl-L BetIS [76] Inventor: John1). Edwards, 1033 N. Ammn Perm Florence, Tulsa Oka. 74110 Attorney,Agent, or Fzrm-Head and Johnson [2]] Appl. No.1 305,233 This inventiondescribes a demountable type of air deflector device in the form of atriangular prism which 521 US. CL. 296/1 5, 105/2 A 296/91 can beattached PPer fmm a large [51] Int. Cl B62 d 35/00 or Semitrailen andwhich extends over the top of the 58] Field of Search 296/1 S 91; 105/2A 2 R cab. The triangular shaped structure can have a closed top andbottom or, if desired, apparatus such as a re- [56] References Citedfrigerating unit may be placed on the front wall of the UNITED STATESPATENTS van and air allowed to pass up through the air deflector pastthe refrigerating unit and up over the top of g 2; 3 g l 5 2 the van.Shock mounts may be provided for attaching 30 1211969 zzg 32 S thestructure to the van, and means are provided for rapidly removing thedeflector device as occasion demands.

7 Claims, 4 Draiving Figures CAB OR VAN VEHICLE AIR DEFLECTOR BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring nowto the drawings and particularly to This invention is in the field oflarge vans and semiis Show" a general View Identified by trailers. Moreparticularly. it is concerned with providing air deflecting means tocontrol the flow of air around the large van body and thereby minimizethe air resistance developed due to rapid movement of-the van bodythrough the air.

In the prior art various means have been shown for adding deflector ontothe roof of the cab so as to cause a deflection of air to the sides andup over the body of the van. These are obviously not as effective as thepresent invention since they do not connect positively to the outersurface of the van, as does this invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a primary object of this invention toprovide a simple. demountable air deflector means that can be rapidlyattached to or demounted from the top front wall of a large van. so thatas the van is moved through the air. the oncoming air will be deflectedto the sides. without a corresponding build up of pressure in front ofthe van.

This and other objects are realized and the limitations of the prior artare overcome in this invention by providing a triangular shaped windscreen mounted on the front wall of the van so as to overhang the top ofthe cab. This pointed wind screen can be triangular in horizontal crosssection and with top and bottom closed. Conversely. the top and bottomcan be open to permit air flow under. upward. inside of the screen. andover the top of the van. This provides opportunity for a small quantityof air to flow upward through the screen and over a device such as arefrigerating unit. etcv which may be mounted on the front wall of thevan. The wind screen is preferably mounted on rubber shock mounts andcan be rapidly attached to or dismounted from the van by bolts or othermeans. The clamp system. which holds the deflector, can be mounteddirectly. by bolts. to the van body. or if desired. the clamps can beattached to long vertical straps. which are hooked over projections onthe top and bottom edges of the van body and are tightened by screwmeans to be securely attached to the front surface of the van.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other objects of thisinvention and a better understanding of the principles and details ofthe invention will be evident from the following description taken inconjunction with the appended drawings. in which:

FIG. 1 indicates a general view of a cab and van system with oneembodiment of the wind screen of this invention attached to the fronttop surface of the van.

FIG. 2 indicates a side view of the van. the wind screen. and the cab.

FIG. 3 indicates a detail of the shock mounts and the method ofattachment of the wind screen to the van body.

FIG. 4 illustrates an alternative method of attachment.

meral l0, ofa truck cab and van assembly. with a view of the wind screen16 of this invention. The wind screen is in the form ofa triangularprism having a front vertical edge 28. two sides 18 and 20. and meansalong 0 second edges 29 and 30 for attachment to the front wall of thevan body 22. The van has a top 24 and sides 26. The prism 16 has aclearance 19 above the roof of the cab 12 so as to permit relativemotion of the van and the cab when the van body is on a semi-trailer.for example. This is shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 shows in side elevation the cab 12, the van wall 26 and the windscreen 16 which is attached by brackets 58 and 58' to the front wall ofthe van.

FIG. 3 indicates one possible type of bracket means that can be used tosupport the air deflector wind screen. The wind screen itself can bemade of thin sheets of rigid construction. of metal or plastic orcombinations thereof. These might be hinged at the front edge 26 so asto be adjustable to different widths of van bodies. However. the jointcan be a rigid one at the front edge and top and bottom surfaces can beapplied to make the entire structure even more rigid. The bracket meansindicated generally by the numeral 58 is shown in FIG. 3. It includes anangle piece 59 attached to the screen. which is attached by bolt means60 and nut 62 through a tube 56. The tube 56 is rubber welded to arubber cylinder 54 which is welded between two angle brackets 50 and 52attached to strap 40. There is an oversized opening in the angles 50 and52 to permit relative motion of the tube 56 under the effects ofvibration and the flexibility ofthe rubber portion 54. There is a strap40 which is supported by a hook 44 which can be locked over a ridge 46along the front edge of the roof of the van. Similarly. there is a hook44' (FIG. 2) which hooks over a corresponding ridge on the bottom of thefront wall. These two portions are. brought together. as shown in FIG.2. and pulled tightly together by means of a turn buckle or other screwdevice, so that the strap 40 going to the top and 40' going to thebottom are pulled together to tightly attach the bracket 58 to thisstrap and to the front wall of the van. The angle brackets 50 and 52 canbe attached by rivets 64 or bolts 66 to the strap 40 or the bolts 66 maybe passed directly through the wall of the van without the use of thestraps 40 and 40'. A horizontal strap like 40 may be used in addition tothe vertical straps 40, 40.

FIG. 4 illustrates another means of fastening of the straps 40. 40' tothe van body. This involves the use of a bracket 36 which has a hook orpost 38. The strap 40 has an opening 32 near the end. The opening 32 isplaced over the hook 38 and anchored in that manner. The straps 40 and40 are pulled together by the turn buckle 70 etc.

What has been described is a simple, inexpensive. ef fective wind screendevice that can be attached to the front upper portion of a van so as tominimize air pressure in traveling through the air. The device can beentirely closed. or opened on top and bottom. It can be made for rapidmounting and demounting. as shown.

While the invention has been described with a certain degree ofparticularity. it is manifest that many changes may be made in thedetails of construction and the arrangement of components. It isunderstood that the invention is not to be limited to the specificembodiment set forth herein by way of exemplifying the invention, butthe invention is to be limited only by the scope of the attached claimor claims-including the full range of equivalency to which each elementor step thereof is entitled.

What is claimed:

1. In a transport vehicle system having a rectangular parallelepipedshaped van body of greater height than the cab associated therewith,said van presenting a vertical transverse front wall above said cab tothe oncoming stream of air as said vehicle system moves forward, theimprovement in air deflector means comprising:

a. a triangular prism-shaped air deflector means comprising at least twowalls attached together along their first vertical front edges andspread apart at their second vertical back edges;

b. bracket means removably attached to said van at the front surfacethereof; and c. means to removably attach said walls at their sec- 0ndvertical edges to said bracket means.

2. The deflector means as in claim 1 including triangular sheet meansattached to the top and bottom edges of said at least two walls.

3. The deflector means as in claim 1 including vertical strap meansremovably attachable along both vertical edges of said front wall ofsaid van, said bracket means attached to said strap means.

4. The deflector means as in claim 3 in which said strap means haveperforations in the top and bottom ends, which perforations are hookedover posts attached to the top and bottom front edges of said van.

5. The deflector means as in claim 4 including at least one horizontalstrap means attached to said vertical strap means.

6. The deflector means as in claim 1 in which said bracket means arebolted to said van.

7. The deflector means as in claim 1 in which said bracket meansincludes shock mount means, said deflector removably attached to saidshock mount means.

1. In a transport vehicle system having a rectangular parallelopiped shaped van body of greater height than the cab associated therewith, said van presenting a vertical transverse front wall above said cab to the oncoming stream of air as said vehicle system moves forward, the improvement in air deflector means comprising: a. a triangular prism-shaped air deflector means comprising at least two walls attached together along their first vertical front edges and spread apart at their second vertical back edges; b. bracket means removably attached to said van at the front surface thereof; and c. means to removably attach said walls at their second vertical edges to said bracket means.
 2. The deflector means as in claim 1 including triangular sheet means attached to the top and bottom edges of said at least two walls.
 3. The deflector means as in claim 1 including vertical strap means removably attachable along both vertical edges of said front wall of said van, said bracket means attached to said strap means.
 4. The deflector means as in claim 3 in which said strap means have perforations in the top and bottom ends, which perforations are hooked over posts attached to the top and bottom front edges of said van.
 5. The deflector means as in claim 4 including at least one horizontal strap means attached to said vertical strap means.
 6. The deflector means as in claim 1 in which said bracket means are bolted to said van.
 7. The deflector means as in claim 1 in which said bracket means includes shock mount means, said deflector removably attached to said shock mount means. 